Details being finalized for Birmingham to host Deontay Wilder's next heavyweight title defense

Multiple sources have told AL.com that a deal is being finalized for Deontay Wilder to host his upcoming title defense at Birmingham's Legacy Arena against Frenchman Johann Duhaupas.

Wilder (34-0, 33 KO) will make his defense on Sept. 26. The fight will be televised on NBC in the Premier Boxing Champions series.

A formal announcement is expected within a few days.

Wilder, a Tuscaloosa native, served Eric Molina a ninth-round knockout on June 13 in Birmingham at UAB's Bartow Arena in his first title defense. As of last week, the location finalists for this fight were in Alabama or on the West Coast.

The fight against Molina was in front 9,347 fans at sold-out Bartow Arena. Legacy Arena can seat up to 19,000 for concerts.

Wilder won the WBC heavyweight championship in January against Bermane Stiverne in Las Vegas.

The 6-foot-5 Duhaupas, ranked No. 12 in the current WBC heavyweight rankings, is a native of Abbeville, France. He's 34 years old and has a 32-2 record with 20 knockouts.

Wilder had to set up a fight against someone in the WBC top 15 for this voluntary challenger. His mandatory challenger is set to be against Alexander Povetkin, but negotiations for that fight will begin in October.

Duhaupas is 5-1 in his last six fights, losing a unanimous decision to Erkan Teper in March. He is the former France heavyweight champion.

Duhaupas is coming off the biggest win of his career over Manuel Charr, who was a top 10 fighter and heavyweight title challenger, on April 10 in Russia.